Red Delights
by Amber Krueger
Summary: He once owned an antique shop called Needful Things, but was forced to leave Castle Rock by Alan Pangborn and Polly Chalmers. Well, now he's back in a new town, with new people and a new business... Red Delights! R&R, Chapter 3 now up!
1. The Dream

Her mind was restless, but that didn't keep her from falling asleep. It was 2:00 AM when she finally drifted off into dreamland.

"_Where am I?" Danielle stood her ground, unaware of where she was and who or what could be there with her. A colorless mist encased her, and then faded away into nothingness. Her mind was filled with voices, pounding within her ears, all talking at the same time. She couldn't name them, although they were familiar. She found herself within a void between time and space. The voices continued to pulse, playing her eardrums slightly too hard. She clutched her head and kneeled down in a pain that grew and spread throughout her whole body. She couldn't breath, she tried to scream, but nothing came out. The pain bloomed excruciatingly, and the voices pulsed louder in unison with it. She felt all the blood rush into her head; she could feel her veins throbbing beneath her skin… _

She woke up in a bed that was not her own. She sat up the second her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting in the room, and noticed she was no longer in her bedroom. "What's going on, where am I?" She looked down to the crimson red, satin sheets that pooled around her. The walls were painted an empty black, dead and depressing. Candles were scattered across the aged stone floor, their blue flames danced and flickered, giving some life to the room.

Danielle locked her eyes in front of her; they focused on a shadow in the afar, down a hall that was lit by wall torches. The shadow didn't walk, but slithered forth, coming closer, closer into sight, until it was just a silhouette before the flames.

"Hello? Who's there?" She squinted, trying to catch a glimpse of any distinct feature. It was just a shapeless cloud of darkness.

As it came into the dim lighting, it now appeared as a man.

"Oh my-" Danielle was muted as the man stepped closer to her. He leaned over the bed, casting his shadow over her. He curled his lips into a gruesome smile, revealing rotten gums and crooked yellow teeth. His breath smelled of sulfur as he blew on her…

Danielle awoke with a start. She gazed around the room, now her room once again. Suddenly a loud noise blared from beside her, causing Danielle to jerk in surprise. She slammed her hand flat on top of the alarm clock that made such a ruckus, and flopped backward onto her pillow. She let out a sigh and then slid her legs over the side of the bed, allowing her bare feet to touch the beige carpeted floor. She sat up once again and stood.

Before she could even attempt to remember what she had dreamt last night, Alex pounded on her door. "Danielle! Wake up!" Alex knocked continuously with both fists.

Danielle sighed impatiently and dragged her feet across the floor. She reached out and grasped the doorknob; as she began to twist it, Alex burst inside, colliding with his older sister.

They fell onto the floor, Danielle hitting the floor bottom-first. "Alex!" She screamed her voice high-pitched and raspy from just waking up.

"Sorry" Alex got to his feet and helped Danielle up.

"Look!" He started, "The new bakery is open now! There's a bake sale going on until 1:00 PM, get ready so we can go!" Alex chewed his words up in excitement. He was almost bouncing off the walls with anticipation.

"Alright, alright." Danielle huffed, walking toward her bathroom. "Let me go to the bathroom first, dweeb." She rolled her eyes as she reached the bathroom and slammed the door behind her.

Danielle had just turned 18 about 2 weeks ago. She'd graduated high school and was now _finally _able to relax without the stress of doing everything on schedule. She was finally living a free life… for now that is.

She flipped the seat up on the toilet, pulled her flannel, blue-checkered pajama pants down and sat.

She masked her face with both hands and sighed heavily.

"I need coffee." Danielle murmured, muffled by her palms. She enlaced her fingers through her straight sandy-blond hair and brushed it back.

Once finished with emptying her bladder, she unrolled a wad of toilet paper, cleaned herself and got up.

"Hurry up, Danny! I wanna go!" Alex called from Danielle's bedroom, jumping up and down. His blond hair moved with him, flying up then dropping back down to frame his chubby round face.

"Okay, Alex! Give me a minute, damn it!" Danielle scowled, looking into the mirror/medicine cabinet door. She turned the faucet all the way, snatched her toothbrush from the coffee mug that sat on the lid of the toilet tank, squirted a straight line of toothpaste on the bristles and raised it up to her mouth to scrub her teeth.

Alex paced back and forth, waiting in Danielle's room. Diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), he was not able to stand still for long. And he couldn't hold a train of thought for too long, either.

To entertain himself for the time-being, he lifted up the piece of newspaper to his face and began to read the ad for the new bakery, (again).

"Red Delights, A new kind of bakery." It read at the top of the ad. Centered in the middle, displayed a picture of a delectable cake. Adorned in fancy icing and designs. You would salivate just by looking at it.

Alex licked his lips and suddenly his stomach began to growl. It rumbled and gurgled, poking at him from the inside.

Danielle rummaged through her hamper, behind the bathroom door, and pulled out a not too wrinkled short sleeved top and blue jeans. She shrugged and pulled the top on over her head, smoothed it out over her stomach, and then stepped into the jeans.

"Danny!" Alex moaned, drawing out on the "e" sound.

"I'm coming, Alex…" Danielle opened the door and flipped the bathroom light off before stepping back into her room.

"Just let me get my shoes on, ok?" She said, padding over to the closet.

"Yay!" Alex squealed, resuming his jumping fit.

Alex was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 5. He's now 11 and even more hyper than when he was younger.

Danielle slipped into her plain black flip-flops and grabbed her purse.

"Alright, let's go." She led her little brother out of her room, shutting the door behind her.

"Last one to the car is a rotten egg!" Alex yelled, darting down the stairs and out the front door.

"You're still a rotten egg, no matter what people say, Alex." Danielle whispered to herself.

She trotted down the stairs, sliding her hand over the oak railing at her left. Alex waited at the car door, jittering from side to side. Danielle stepped out the door and walked down the lawn to her black SUV. She pressed her thumb on the key remote, and the car unlocked, allowing Alex to get inside. He hopped onto the tan leather seat, and buckled up. Danielle got inside the driver's side, tossed her purse into the back and also buckled her seatbelt. They drove off to Town Centre, heading for the newest bakery, Red Delights.

Her mind was set on getting there just to keep her little brother quiet, she had forgotten all about her dream last night.


	2. Grand Opening

"GRAND OPENING BAKE SALE" Read a large white banner that swayed in the gentle breeze. It hung over a red awning, the corners tied to two poles that stood about 5 feet over the roof.

Danielle and Alex parked in front of the new bakery, Red Delights (written in fancy white lettering on the burgundy awning). Alex jabbed his fingers at the button on the seatbelt to release him. It finally let him go, allowing him to dart out of the car and towards his target… the free samples.

"Alex, wait up!" Danielle scoffed and took her time unbuckling her seatbelt. She reached behind her seat to grab her purse and then got out.

Alex stopped abruptly to find a tall man standing behind the main counter inside the bakery. "Good day, young man. Welcome to Red Delights." The man smiled pleasantly, revealing a row of crooked and yellow teeth. He was an older man, his hair was a mixture of salt and pepper. Slicked back neatly, not a hair out of place. "What would you fancy, young sir? Oh, how about a sample?" The man smiled again, reaching behind the counter and into the glass case that was filled with baked goods.

Alex nodded and bit his lip, his stomach began to gurgle again.

The man took out a silver tray (possibly antique) embellished with small squares of colorful cakes, toothpicks poked through the centers of each piece.

A sense of enthusiasm began to bubble within Alex, along with the discomfort of his hungry stomach. He licked his lips and peered over the tray the man had set onto the counter for him.

"What's that?" Alex asked, pointing at a crimson piece of cake decorated in an off-white icing.

"That, my fine man, is Red Velvet Cake. It's one of the most exquisite treats from where I come from. And is famous for it's name, because it melts in your mouth with the softest velvety touch on each taste bud. Try it." The man pinched the edge of the toothpick that stabbed through the piece of Red Velvet Cake. He picked it up and flipped it upside down as he handed it to Alex.

Alex smiled and took the piece of cake from him. Before he could touch the sweet icing to his lips, Danielle walked in, the sound of her flip-flops slapping against her heels.

"Alex, are you bothering this man?" She snatched the sample from his fingers. "Hey!" Alex cried. He was almost there… almost tasted the glory of that cake. Almost.

"I'm sorry. Alex can be a little…" Danielle motioned her head toward her little brother, still facing the man, rolling her eyes in expression.

"Oh it's fine, you needn't worry about him. I was just giving him a sample of cake. Would you like to try one?" The man smiled, this time not revealing his teeth. His gray mustache trailed over his top lip, stretching with his grin.

"Oh no, thank you anyway. We'd really better get going." Danielle noticed the sample in her hand, the one she had taken away from Alex. She handed it back to him, kissing the tip of her index finger and thumb from a piece of icing that had stuck to her.

Alex shoved the cake into his mouth and chewed it with his tongue against the roof of his mouth.

"Oh please, stay and take a look around. You never know what you might find." The man looked into her eyes. There was something familiar about his icy blue eyes. They were so… blue. Danielle found herself staring into his eyes, almost drowning in them. "Danny! Can we buy some Red Velvety Cake?" Alex tugged on Danielle's top with his right hand, and licking his fingers on his left.

"Oh um… yeah, I guess we could." Danielle seemed to almost be in a trance. She quickly snapped out of it and followed Alex over to another glass case.

Within this case, sat a display of three cakes. The one in the middle was on a silver stool. Shreds of chocolate were sprinkled on the top of it, alongside burgundy and off-white icing. "Let's get that one!" Alex pointed at the cake, jumping up and down.

"I don't know Alex, the last thing you need is sugar. Dad might have a fit." Danielle thought about how their father would go off the wall if Alex had too much sugar. He couldn't even stand Alex because of his ADHD. They were out of his prescription Ritalin to keep him calm, and all this cake would do is make him even more hyper than before.

Ever since their mother had passed away 4 months ago, Jacoby Marshall (their father) has been stressed out and tense. Not having enough money to fill their prescription for Ritalin, Alex has been full of energy.

"If I may… I also sell sugar-free cake. It just so happens that the one you're looking at is sugar-free. And still with the same delectable taste." The man made his way over to the other case and opened it. "Oh well then in that case, I guess dad wouldn't care." Danielle smiled and nodded at Alex.

"I'm sorry, but… I never caught your name… Mister…?"

"Gaunt. Leland Gaunt." The man smiled again, taking out the sugar-free red velvet cake and advancing into the back, where he would box it.

Mr. Gaunt came back out with the boxed cake in his arms. He sat it down on the counter, next to an old cash register, and rang it up. "That will be 8.99 please."

Danielle slid her purse off her shoulder and pulled out her wallet. "Ok…" She opened her wallet to find it empty except for a credit card.

"Um… do you take credit?" Danielle hesitated.

Mr. Gaunt furrowed his brow and frowned. "Ooh. Sorry, cash or checks only. But that's ok, Danielle, you can pay me later." He grinned, this time baring his grotesque teeth.


	3. Hangover

Mark pulled the covers over his head, shielding his eyes from the sunlight that beamed down onto him. He groaned lazily and squirmed beneath the blanket, rolling onto his other side.

He was awake. He knew he wasn't going to go back to sleep; but he dreaded the thought of getting out of bed and actually putting effort into his day.

Daisy jumped up onto the twin-sized bed, her delicate paws padding across the blanket, only leaving gentle dents as footsteps.

She purred and whipped her tail slowly from side to side, circling her owner. _MEOW… _She yawned, stretching then rubbing her head against the lump where Mark's head rested beneath the covers.

"Daisy… not now…" He murmured, holding back a yawn that seemed too powerful to fight.

Daisy woke Mark up every morning, usually around the same time, unless it was a weekend, then she'd let him sleep in.

It was 10:20 AM and Mark, most of the time, slept until 9:30. Although today was an exception, due to Mark's hangover (a result from the party Mark had attended last night).

His head pounded, even the trill of Daisy's purring annoyed his sensitivities.

Mark mumbled something after five minutes of Daisy's morning routine and finally sat up, (slowly) trying to avoid anymore headache.

He smiled and pet Daisy from head to the end of her black tipped-tail and got to his feet. "I'm up." He said, stretching his arms straight into the air and bending backwards toward his bed.

If he straightened up too fast, his headache would become even worse, like snapping a stretched rubber band.

After the bathroom, his first pit stop in the morning, he made his way out into the kitchen. Aiming for the refrigerator first, of course.

A stale half-full carton of milk, sat on the shelf on the door. An empty box of eggs, and old Chinese food sat together on the middle shelf. The top, a stick of butter, a banana and a small stack of pre-wrapped Kraft cheese.

_I need to go shopping… _Mark thought to himself, slamming the fridge door and heading for the pantry.

Orville Redenbacher popcorn, a can of chicken noodle soup, tomato soup, a bag of Doritos…

Doritos. The perfect breakfast.

Mark snatched the bag of Doritos and carefully tried to open it without making too much noise. It crackled and snapped as he _tried _to open it. He didn't realize, the slower you open it, the louder it'll be.

Soon after, he just got a good grip on either side of the bad and pulled, ripping it open.

He took a handful and managed to stuff it all into his mouth. The crunch of the fresh Doritos being clamped between his upper and bottom teeth could be heard in the next room.

Daisy meowed as she turned the corner into the kitchen, savoring the edge of the wall to scratch an unreachable itch. Once finished, she waved her black and white tail past the cabinets under the counters, and hopped up onto the kitchen table.

_MEOW._

She gazed up at her owner with big green eyes. Her pupils adjusted to the lighting in the room, shrinking and growing whilst she looked at him.

Suddenly the jingle of the telephone rang into Mark's ears.

_RING… RING… RING… _before he picked it up.

"_Yallo." _He answered, holding the cordless between his chin and shoulder.

"Hey Mark." Danielle's voice rattled through the phone.

"You're a voice for sore ears." Mark said as he chewed another handful of Doritos. He was relieved to hear Danielle on the other end of the phone instead of Jason Haldwell, his boss at Farm Fresh (a grocery store in Virginia. Not an international chain, mind you.)

Danielle laughed, pulling up to her house. Trusting Alex with the cake wasn't one her wise choices. Alex had snuck open the box and dug in, resulting in a mess of icing and crumbs.

He sat in the back, where his sister couldn't see. She wasn't paying attention anyway, she was preoccupied with talking to her boyfriend.

Mark poured a small amount of Doritos onto the table and poked at them with his finger. "I should be getting fired soon." He wrinkled his nose and huffed at the idea.

"Why?" Danielle frowned, glancing in the rearview mirror at Alex. All she could see was his head and shoulders. Not noticing the speck of icing on the corner of his mouth.

"I didn't show up for 4 days, for no reason at all. Do you really think Jason is gonna keep me?"

"Good point. If you hate him and that job so much, why not quit? Why push him to the point of firing you, Mark?" Danielle shook her head as she spoke, pressing her Motorola flip phone against her right ear.

"I don't know. I'm bored and need to be entertained." Mark smirked.

"You're such an ass."

"We've gone over this already, Dan. I'm an ass-_hole." _Mark laughed whilst pushing a couple more chips into his mouth before rolling up the half-empty bag and shoving it aside.

"Yeah you're right." Danielle giggled and hung up after a few minutes of chatter.

She unbuckled her seatbelt and turned around to take the cake from Alex. Her mouth dropped open to find Alex's hand covered in red velvet cake. He had devoured at least half of it, some still on his hands and face.

"Oh my God, Alex! I swear if you got anything in my car I will _kill _you!" She screamed, snatching the cake away from him and placing it in the front passenger seat.

Alex sat holding his hands up, licking his lips clean of icing and crumbs.

"Get out and clean up!" Danielle shrieked, shooing her little brother out of the SUV. Searching the seat for any stains.


End file.
